Machine



(No Model.) Wl CAMP'ION. 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

KNITTING MACHINE.

nted Dec. 20,1881.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. GAMPION.

KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Deo. 20,1881.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W, CAMPION.

KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Dec. Z0, 1881.

LNVEJV'TR William Campion WITNESSES By his Attorney 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

W. CAMPION.

KNITTING MACHINE.

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Patented Deo. 20,1881.

117V` VEJV'TR William Campion By m1; attorney o ouoooconooen ou accesses-.secan WITJV'ESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM OAMPION, OF NOTTINGHAM, COUNTY OF NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND,

ASSIGNOR TO THE AUTOMATIC JAOQUARD KNITTING MACHINE OOM- PANY, (LIMITED,) OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MACHINE.

Y SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,184, dated December 20, 1881.

Application filed September 29, 1881. (No model.) Patented in England November 2l, 1879.

To allcohom it may concern:

Beit known that l, WILLIAM GAMPION, of the town and county of Nottingham,England, have invented certain new and useful Improve- 5 ments in Knitting Machinery for Manufacturing Close or Open Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machinery for knitting fabrics; and its object is to do away with 1o the complicated` parts which, in machines of the kind hitherto in use, have been used to actuate the fabric-forming devices. with the result of retarding the speed and diminishing' the power of the machines.

I5 In the machine embodying my improvements the various bars which carry the working devices-such as the needles, the knocking-over bits, &c.-are carried by and directly connected with oscillating arms, which are 2o governed and actuated by cams, and which impart all needed movements to the fabricforming devices. The knocking-over bits I construct so that each shall consist of a short lupper arm and a longer under arm, and I com- 25 bine them with the needles, so that they shall act, the shorter arms to hold down the loops on the needles as they rise and t-he longer arms `both to knock over the loops and also as a bed for the fabric and as a sley for the needles. I

3o have also devised a tension device which is simpler and more effective than others hitherto in use, so far as I am aware. In this way I obtain a machine ofgreat simplicity and speed, possessing marked advantages over existing 3 5 knitting-machines.

The nature of my improvements and the Inanner in which the same are or may be carried into eiI'ect can bestbe explained and understood by reference to the accompanying drawings,

4o in which- Figure 1 represents a front view of my im proved machinery, portions of the machine being broken away to disclose other parts beyond; Fig. 2, a. view atA the left e'nd of the 45 same. Figisadiagrammatic enlarged view, in cross-section, of the operating parts. Figs. 4 to 14, inclusive, are enlarged views of portions of the apparatus severally referred to hereinafter.

The corresponding part-s in each gure are 5o indicated by the sameletters where necessary.

The machinery consists of the following parts: two end standards, AA, and, when the length of the machine requires it, one or more intermediate standards or bearings, thewhole 5 5 of which are connected together by two tiebars, B B, to which and to the standards bearings are secured. The uppermost bearings carry a rocking axle-shaft, C, to which are secured sley bracket arms C', to each of whicha 6o slotted bearing, O2, is screwed. In these bearings two or more guide-bars, D, slide. Each barbas guide-leads D secured to it in the usual way, and extending nearly from end to end of the bar. The leads carry either a.' full 65 set of guides or other number required. A front view of one such guide-lead is shown at Fig. l1. Each guide-bar is traversed endwise by a suitable cam-wheel operating a rocking lever, r, carrying a link, ac', at its upper end, 7o attached to the guide-bar, the opposite end of the bar being provided with a spring, y, in the usual way, as indicated in Fig. l. The back guide-bar is traversed by the cam-wheel D3 (shownin side view at Fig. S) and the 75 front guide bar by the cam-wheel D2, (shown at Fig. 7.) These cam-wheels are varied in shape according to the pattern4 required. Both wheels are secured on and revolve with a short horizontal shaft, z, lying in bearings 8o secured to the left end standard. The short shaft is provided with a toothed bevel-wheel, D4, which gears into a smaller toothed bevelwheel, D5secured on the left outer end of a cam-shaft, E. The rocking shaft C has one 85 or more truck-bearing levers, D6, secured to it, according to the width of the machine. Each lever carries two trucks, which are operated by'cams 5 and 6, (shown in side view at Fig.

6.) These cams rock the shaft C so as to 9o cause the guides to pass alternately to the front and back of the needles. Two guide-bars only are shown in the drawings; but I employ a greater number when required, and in either case the lapping-cams 5 and 6 are 95 formed so as to cause the whole of the guidebars,when being traversed, to clear the needles both at the back and front.

Each slotted bearing C2 has as many slots as there are guide-bars employed. These bearings are of peculiar construction, having athin arm projecting at the back, by which they are secured to the sley bracket arms C. The thin arm allows the threads to reach the guides in a more direct manner than those heretofore constructed. The guide-bars are kept in the slots of the bearings by a plate, C3, which lies on the bottom and is screwed to the frontot' the bearing, as seen at Fig. 3. One such bearing is shown in plan at Fig. 4.

' Below the guide-bars is ahoxizontal bar, F, to the under side of which bearing-levers F are secured, each of whichl has its lower end secured to arocking axle-shaft, F2. This shafthas one or more truck bearing levers, F3, se-k cured to it, each operated by the cams 3 and 4, (shown in side view at Fig. 5,) which communicate a rocking motion to the horizontal bar.

On the top side of the horizontal bar F are secured plates or leads F4, in which knockingover bits F5 are soldered or cast. Each of these bits is made of steel. wire bent to a U shape and flattened, having one end longer than the other. The shortest ends, being at the top, hold down the loops on the needles as they rise, and the longest ends form a bed for the fabric at'ter it is knocked over. The knockingover bits also form a sley, in which bearded needles rise and fall. The outer ends oi"v the bits may have a lead cast on them, as shown in sectional view, Fig. 3; or the ends may be inclosed in the i'old of a strip ot' brass, F6, as

l shown in sectional view, Fig. 13, and in plan at Fig. 14. Such strip of brass iskept in position by brass pins, which drop into holes formed for them at about every six inches of its length, each pin taking into a loop formed by the long end of one ot' the knocking-over bits, as indicated by dotted lines at F7 in Fig. 14. By such means the strip can be readily removed when a. bit lead or plate, F4, has to be replaced.

The knocking-over bits, instead of being constructed as above described,.may be punched out of thin steel plate; or I may form leach length of knocking-over bits by casting leads with short steel bits at the top and long bits at the bottom. v

Above the plates or leads a presser-bar, G, is secured. This presser-bar may be either fixed, as shown in the sectional view, Fig. 3, in which case it is made in short lengths to facilitate the removal ot' the knockingover leads, or it may be cnt away at the front on the top to receive an angular bar, G, which is arranged so as to slide endwise upon it, as shown respectively in section and plan at Figs. 13 and 14, where the front edges of both the presser-bar G and angular bar G are provided with tricks,77 in which thebeards ofthe needles pass when the tricks in both bars correspond. When a tuck-stitch is required the traverse ot' the angular presser-bar G is effected by an additional Wheel, carried by the horizontal shaft z atthe left end ot' the machine, operating a connecting-link attached to the bar, in the same manner as described for traversing the guide-bars.

The bearded needles are cast in leads H, a front view of one ot' which is shown at Fig. 12, the leads being held to a needle-bar, H', by plates and screws, in the usual way. The needle-bar is supported by bent bearing-levers H2, secured on a rocking axleshaft, H3, to

which are attached one or more truck bearing arms, H4, each operated by the eccentric cams 1 and 2, (shown in the sectional view, Fig. 3,) causing the needles to rise and fall. The cams for effecting the several movements ofthe truck bearinglevers and their attachments are all carried by the cam-shaft E. Each needle is provided with yarn from one or more guides, each supplied from a spool or warp-beam. 1n the drawings two warp-beams, I I, are shown.

During the rising ot the needles each thread is slackened by the following means: To the top tie-bar B double-armed brackets I are secured. .The back arms carry the warp-beams', each of' which is provided with a grooved pulley, round which acord is passed, one end being secured to a. pin projecting from the back arm, the other end ot' the cord being attached to one end of a spring, having its other end hooked on a screwed pin carried by a stud in a vertical plate secured to the front arm ofthe warp-beam bracket, the pressure ot' the cord on the pulley being regulated by a thumb-nut on the screwed pin. The threads from the top warpbeam are passed over a fixed rod, J, and under a rising and falling tube, J, then over a second iixed rod, J2, and through holes in a sley, J3, carried by studs on the top'of the front guide-bar, and through the front guides to the needles. Portion ofthe sley J3 is shownv in plan at Fig. 10. The threads from the bottom warp-beam are passed over two other fixed rods and undera second rising and falling tube, J4, through sleys J5, and through the back guides to the needles. Portion ot' the sley J5 is shown in plan at Fig. 9. The four fixed rods ICO IIO

above named are supported at each end by nprights secured to the warp-beam brackets I', the front arms ot' which latter form bearings for the ends of' a rocking axleshaft, K, which is also supported at the center of its length by a bearing secured to the top tie-bar of the machine. This axle-shaft` carries an arm, K', near each end, one of which is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2; and to the back ends ot' these arms arepinned two vertical siotted plates, K2, which are raised and lowered by the said arms, and are guided in their movements by guide-plates K4 or other proper means. The tubes J and J4 enter and are adapted to rise and fall in the slots ot plates K2. Movement of the plate-earrying arms K is obtained by means of an oscillatory lever, L, fixed on the left-hand end of rock-shaft K, and hinged at its free end to a connecting-link, K3, connected to and operated IIS by a crank-pin, L', carried on the outer end of cam-shaft E, as indicated in Fig. 2. rIhe tubes J and J4 are weighted by inserting therein a rod or rods of various thickness, according to the stiffness of fabric required. Each time the tubes are brought down by the slotted plates they draw off a certain portionof th'e threads from each beam or sets of spools, by which means the beams or sets of spools require less attention than heretofore. The tension device thus organized is simple and more effective than any tension device hitherto used of which I have knowledge. The cam-shaft E is provided atits right end with a toothed wheel, E',

kunder and longer arms of the bits.

gearinginto an intermediate wheel,which gears into a toothed wheel, E2, on the end ofthe handshaft in front of the machine, by which the attendant can operate it. To the right of the wheel E the axle-shaft is provided with a fast and loose pulley anda y-wheel, E3. The standards A A, first named, are shorter than is required to hold the machine the proper height for the attendant, theextra height being formed by additional standards A A and a back tiebar, A2, secured to the bottom of the firstnamed standards. By such means the machine proper can be separated from the lower standards and placed entire in a case for removal.

It will be seen from the foregoing that all the fabric-formin g devices are carried by rocking arms which derive their movements directly from the motion-imparting cams. I thus obtain a machine of great simplicity, speed, and power as well.

The operation of the machine may be briefly described as follows: After the work has been knocked over, and as the needles rise, the slotted plates carrying the weight-ed tension-tube are lowered by the action of the crank-pin L', thus depressing the tubes. The plates then, b-y continuance of the same action, rise, and thus permit the weighted tubes to lise in the slots of the plates as the threads are lapped bythe guides around the needles, and while theloops are being knocked over the needles again rise and the movements are repeated. The rocking movement of the knocking-over bits and the presser-bar with respect to that of the needles is so timed that as the needles descend the presser-bar remains in its forward position long enough to press and close the beards until their lower ends pass below the The rock-- ing frame F F F2, that carries the bits and presser-bar, then moves back in time and far enough to carry the upper and shorter ends or arms ofthe bits out of the path of the descending needles. This rearward rocking movement causes the under arms ot' the bits to knock over the previously-formrd loops. The frame then again moves forward in time and far enough to bring the shorter arms of the bits over the loops in the beards of the needles, so

that as the needles rise these loops will be drawn from the beards and retained between the upper and under arms of the knockingover bits. The upper and shorter arms of the bits thus serve to hold said loops down as the needles rise, while the under and longer arms serve as a bed for the fabric, a sley for the needles, and a knocking-over device for the loops.

Having now described my improvements, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. Thecombinatiomwith bearded needles,of knocking-over bits, formed each of a short upper and a longer` lower arm, substantially as described, and operating in conjunction with said needles, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with bearded needles, of the knocking-over bits, formed each of a short upper arm and a longer under arm, substantially as described, and the presser-bar.

3. The combination, with the needles and rocking needle-carrying frame, of the knocking-over bits, formed of long and short arms, substantially as described, the presser-bar, the rocking frame carrying said presser-bar and bits, and lnechanism whereby said rocking frames are operated to move with relation to one another substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

4. The guide-bars and guides, the rockerframe carrying the same, and means for longitudinally reciprocating the guide-bars, in cornbination with the presser bar or bars, the knocking-over bits and bit-bar, the needles and needle-bar, and rocker-frames carrying said presser and knocking-overbit bars and needle-bars, respectively, these parts being arranged and operated to move relatively to one another substantially` as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

5. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the weight-carrying tubes J J4, the slotted plates K2, and mechanism, substantiall y as described, for reciprocating or raising and lowering said plates.

6. The combination,`with the slotted plates K2, the rocking or reciprocating fratne carrying the same, and one or more warp-beams, of the stationary yarn or thread guide pins and one or more intermediate weight-carrying tubes, one for each warp-beam, carried in and operated by the said plates K2, substantially as and for the purposes hereiubefore set forth.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 23d day of June, 1881.

WILLIAM CAMPION.

Witnesses J. G. HUDSON, WM. VEvERs.

TOO

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